PSC nominee withdraws after state senator accuses him of ‘vulgar’ conduct at charity event

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott's appointee to the Florida Public Service Commission has withdrawn his name from nomination after a powerful state senator accused him of making "vulgar and inappropriate comments and gestures" at a charity event last year.

Ritch Workman, a former state representative from Melbourne, said he doesn't remember the incident, but he promptly offered his resignation and an apology to Scott and state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Fort Myers) when he was informed of her allegations by a POLITICO reporter.

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"I'm honored the governor appointed me to the PSC. But this will be a distraction to the governor and the state of Florida and the Senate," Workman told POLITICO. "And out of respect to him and Sen. Benacquisto, I will not pursue my nomination."

In a written statement from her office, Benacquisto didn't give specifics but indicated the incident stuck out in her mind and in the mind of others.

"At a public charity event in 2016, former Rep. Ritch Workman approached me from behind, pushed his body up against me and made vulgar and inappropriate gestures," Benacquisto said in the statement. "I immediately asked him to stop.”

“He continued to make vulgar and inappropriate comments and gestures until other attendees intervened,” she continued. “I found his conduct to be abhorrent. As such, I will not agenda his appointment to the Public Service Commission for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Rules."

Benacquisto chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee which must sign off on Workman’s appointment to the commission that regulates state utilities. The governor appoints PSC nominees, but like other executive appointments, the nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

The resignation is an embarrassment for Scott, who took a risk appointing a political ally to a position he did not technically apply for. Workman was appointed by the governor in September to fill the PSC seat now held by Ronald Brisé, whose term expires in January.

But Workman never applied to fill Brisé's seat, nor another seat with a term expiring in January. Instead, Workman applied for the seat vacated in June when PSC member Jimmy Patronis was appointed by Scott to be state chief financial officer.

Curt Kiser, a former state senator and PSC general counsel, had called Workman's appointment legally questionable while also saying he expected it would be upheld on a legal challenge.

It’s not known now whether Scott must choose one of the other names offered by the PSC Nominating Council or whether there would be a new application process.

Word of Benacquisto’s allegations reached Scott by last week, prompting his office to privately tell Workman he should withdraw his nomination. However, sources say, Workman held off resigning because he didn’t know Benacquisto was his accuser and, he maintained, he had no recollection when informed of the claims.

“The Governor has consistently said that any misconduct cannot be tolerated. He supports his decision to resign,” said Scott press secretary Lauren Schenone in a statement following Workman’s resignation,

Workman served eight years in the Florida House, including a two-year stint as chair of the House Rules Committee, before leaving due to term-limits in 2016. He later ran an unsuccessful campaign for state Senate in 2016 against state Sen. Debbie Mayfield.

Workman earned national comedic scorn in 2011 when he proposed repealing the ban in state law on dwarf-tossing, enacted in the 1980s, after bars were promoting such events.

“All we really did by passing that law was take away some employment from some little people,” Workman told the Florida Current. His bill, H.B. 4063, died without being heard in a committee.

In 2015, Workman also got attention for appearing in a list of members of Ashley Madison, which at the time was a website in which married people could connect with partners for affairs. Workman was not married at the time he signed up for the site.

The withdrawal of Workman’s nomination is only the latest in a string of high-profile sex scandals that have rocked Florida politics since October.

POLITICO first reported in late October that former state Sen. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) was having an affair with a lobbyist, which prompted his resignation. State Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who was one of the most powerful politicians in the state, is facing two separate investigations relating to allegations reported by POLITICO last week that six women say he groped and sexually harassed them over a period of several years.

Florida Democratic Party Stephen Bittel stepped down Nov. 17 after POLITICO reported several female party staffers and consultants said he had a history of making demeaning remarks toward women and of creating an unprofessional workplace environment for women, according to former party staffers and consultants.

Workman’s quick resignation after the allegations he essentially denied stands in stark contrast to the Latvala, who is fighting charges from the aide of the chamber’s GOP leader that he groped her on multiple occasions and used derogatory language to describe her body.

In disputing the claims from aide Rachel Perrin Rogers, Latvala and his team began to out her when her name was supposed to remain confidential. Latvala also falsely said her husband, a political consultant, is working for a rival in the 2018 gubernatorial race to replace the term-limited Scott.

Scott, who is eyeing a run for the U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, has called Latvala a “distraction” and has staked out a zero-tolerance stance when it comes to allegations against his nominees or appointees.